This is page numbers 3073 - 3114 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 3rd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was languages.

Topics

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Minister of Human Resources

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are a service delivery department, so whatever ways we can find to improve our service, we are always willing to look at it. Currently, if somebody retires, we usually follow up one month after their retirement and then again eight months later. Generally we find that sufficient but if the Member feels that we should be following up more actively, we are prepared to look at that.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

For clarity on the record, of course, is that a commitment that the Minister will go back and look at and see if they’ll implement that? And if so, when does he think he could proceed with that process...(inaudible)...for me if that was the direction they were going. Thank you.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Minister of Human Resources

As the Member may know, when somebody retires they have up to one year to make a final determination of how they want their pension to be handled, whether they would receive monthly payments or receive a lump sum transfer value. In the past we found that if we follow up too often with retiring employees, they feel that we’re being a nuisance. So we can actually deal with that by interacting with the individuals that retire.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Mr. Speaker, I can certainly appreciate and respect the point of view that the Minister just brought, but I’ve got a recent case where, of course, once superannuation is involved to transfer of pensions, et cetera, all of a sudden there’s nothing but a headache and, of course, back to that finger pointing. They assume Human Resources is at fault. Human Resources assumes the client is supposed to do something and, of course, the communication between superann officially is almost a difficult process on its own.

Mr. Speaker, it’s back to the communication. Would the Minister maybe look at updating the policy and be willing to at least do that to make sure that there’s clear and regular contact with difficult files? Thank you.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Minister of Human Resources

Of course we want everybody that retires to have everything worked out so that they can enjoy their retirement years. I should point out that the superannuation is moving away to handling all of their own affairs. Generally, once they get the paperwork they don’t normally want our HR people to be intervening directly with the employee. But we’re quite prepared to look at it and to work very actively with retiring employees of the government.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is directed at the Premier, in light of my Member’s statement. The Yukon government made a political decision a number of years ago to provide cell phone services to all its communities. I believe it was a $2 million investment that they made. I’d like to ask the Premier: As the government, are we considering such a policy in the Northwest Territories and seriously considering making such an investment for the rest of the communities in the Northwest Territories? I believe there are some 22 communities without cell phone service. I’d like to ask the Premier: Can the Executive Council consider looking at that option?

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this area has indeed been looked at from a number of areas. We are aware of what the Yukon government has done. Of course, their geographic area and ability to get into communities is much easier than ourselves, beside the one community that’s off their highway system. But we’ve been working through a number of fronts: One, to go through an exercise to look at cell phone service. In fact, on the specific area of broadband initiative which would help us with potentially increasing cell phone service, the CIO’s office is reviewing some information that may help us in this category, and that’s within the Department of Finance. Thank you.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Mr. Speaker, again, I believe it’s an essential component of improving our telecommunications programs and services in our communities by good communication, being able to have people out in the field that you can basically communicate with and, more importantly, improve our systems in all our communities in the Northwest Territories regardless if it’s high-speed Internet. But, more importantly, I think the cost in regard to cell phone service is a lot cheaper. In most cases, people are packing cell phones around. You take it back to the community and you’ve got to shove it into your desk because you can’t use it.

I think it’s important that this government seriously considers looking at that. I’d like to ask the Minister, in regard to the request for proposal, is this government re-soliciting for such a proposal by the private sector to provide that service?

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Mr. Speaker, before we go out for any further work, we would have to establish that in our business plans to identify actual dollars that we would have available for an investment if we were to do an RFP. Meanwhile, through the broadband initiative, which there are a number of phases and the department has been

working on this since 2005 with a couple of companies in trying to provide the high-speed Internet in communities and spin-off cell phone services, is one of those things that would be looked at. So there has been ongoing work. It is ongoing now. There’s a phase two kicking in that’s managing the Broadband Program and that’s currently under some discussions and negotiations with Infrastructure Canada in that area. Thank you.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Mr. Speaker, in regard to the solicitation for 911 service, I believe the Minister of MACA said in the House yesterday that they are willing to take a look at it. All I am asking the Premier is, can he also consider looking at cell phone services for those communities that don’t have the service at the present time?

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Mr. Speaker, what the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs responded to was a report that was done much like any other report that gets done. If we were to accept that as a government on the recommendations that would come along with that, we would have to build it into the business plan and look at options of how we could implement such recommendations if we were to accept it as an Assembly and put that as one of our priorities.

With this area, we have heard the concern around 911. We also know that there is a concern of hooking up throughout the Territory and making services available. So there are a number of things we have to look at around the connectivity, around the cell phone services, around 911.

We are going to have to take a number of departments here, put them together and highlight each of the areas that there are concerns, to see where we can actually make them change and implement a plan of how long that plan would take to put in place, whether it is one year, two years or 10 years. But that is something we have to look at and take a look at it across departmental initiatives between 911, emergency services, cell phone service and so on before we make any direct decisions that we would be able to go forward on our business plan. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the downturn of our economy, I believe NorthwesTel is probably struggling like the rest of them. This is the possibility for an opportunity to offer them some investment by way of this government. I would like to ask the Premier in regard to the wish list that we keep sending down to Ottawa, is there a possibility of putting $2 million into that wish list, get some infrastructure funding for all of our communities in the Northwest Territories and have cell phone service in 33 communities in the Northwest Territories?

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Mr. Speaker, I said it earlier and I will try to do it a little clearer this time, since 2005, the office of the Chief Information Officer has been working on the initiative, working with a number of departments, working with contractors in the North. In fact Falcon Communications and SSI Micro have been involved since 2005 working through the Infrastructure Canada funding through phase one. They are now starting into phase two, a process that would see further broadband capacity which then would allow us to look at another initiative across the Territory. There are over $14 million in that pot that we are trying to access and negotiate with Infrastructure Canada. We will get the departments together to provide information to the Members so that we know where the initiatives are. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I want to follow up on my statement about the midwife program in Yellowknife. I know the Minister is aware of circumstances of Yellowknife’s only midwife. I would like to ask the Minister whether or not she thinks that the expectations that are put on this person are reasonable and what she could tell me are acceptable circumstances for a single midwife working in this situation. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister of Health and Social Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is right that we have one funded position for a midwife in Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority. She is responsible for those services. The Member is also right that since 2005, when the policy was implemented, there has not been the kind of funding that would allow for any more midwifery positions in the system. In fact, the positions that we are funding in Yellowknife were originally allocated for Hay River but was not...(inaudible)...at this time. If we are to spend the midwifery services in Yellowknife or in any other community, which we hope to do, it will require additional funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Does the Minister think that the situation in Yellowknife is acceptable for one midwife to be handling the number of clients that she does to have to turn away 25 clients in any one year? Thank you.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister of Health and Social Services

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important for us to know that for the expecting mothers in Yellowknife, they have services of

doctors who could help her with that process, which is not the case for many expecting mothers in many of our communities. We have communities without nurses even, so there is no question that there is a lot of need for human resources in our health system. For Yellowknife, I understand that midwifery service may be or is the preferred option for many expecting mothers, but those mothers who don’t have access to a midwife because there is one midwife that has a full workload, those expecting mothers have the option and services of a physician. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Mr. Speaker, I guess I agree to disagree, because I think that while we have options whether midwife services or doctoral services for pregnant women here in Yellowknife, I think the Minister probably should recognize that there are some efficiencies in the midwife program. It keeps many patients out of the hospital, which we know is a very expensive proposition. I think that were it looked at, we would probably find that there are some efficiencies and some cost savings.

I asked a question in my statement whether or not the government is prepared to take steps to keep us at the forefront of midwife services in Canada, which is where I think we are. Knowing the number of clients that have been denied, knowing that there is a need, I would like to ask the Minister if there are any concrete plans, if there are any steps to meet the commitment that was made in 2005 and add another staff person to this program. Thank you.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister of Health and Social Services

Mr. Speaker, I have to correct the Member that midwifery services does not eliminate the need for physicians. They have to work together. Midwives have to practice their profession along with physicians in a supervisory role. That is what happens in Fort Smith as well. Mr. Speaker, it is my desire and hope that we can expand the services especially, and this is more suitable in regional centres like Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Simpson and the Sahtu where the reliable physician services are not as readily in place. The plan is for me to go forward during the business plan process to see if we could expand those services, but I think, in making decisions on our physical priorities, it is important to note that for those mothers in Yellowknife who prefer to have midwifery service, they still have a lot more services than many mothers in our communities who do not have those services. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.